What malenak said. Amongst all the uncertainties and doubts in my life, changing my DAC isn't even up for discussion. Not sure about the cola analogy but thumbs up for 'you add tubes'! Imagine how good a Dave/Blu MkII is. Frightening.

I've been listening to LCD-4 through a WA6-SE(ii) with the same valve combo for about the last year: RCA 13EM7 & Brimar 5Z4G ... until yesterday when I gave my KR 5U4G another go. It's been sitting idle all that time not because I don't like it (it's extraordinary) but because on a particular...

I got in touch with Cosmic Cables to ask if they service IEM customers as I didn't see anything on their site, and they replied (swiftly) as follows: "Hello Nick, thank you for your enquiry, at the moment we are waiting for stock of the 2 pin 78mm and mmcx connectors from the USA, we are hoping...

It can go up to DSD128 through the USB and coax inputs only, not the optical though.

Yup. In my humble opinion it's possible to be entirely correct and toe-curlingly obnoxious at the same time.

@filip sebastian - Personally I prefer my Brimar 5r4GY (brown base) to the Sophia Princess 274B. It can be a great bargain if you get a decent one at a good price. Definitely worth the investment imho.

For any Brits (or other 240V enthusiasts) interested in owning a Milo, mine's for sale: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wells-audio-milo.880849/

Whilst not as big as some on the market they do qualify as 'full-sized' in my book. However they are remarkably light so would be eminently suited to use during 'light activity'.

imho MOST people should do that.

Everything betula said. And I guess now would be a really really good time to go shopping for one, given that its successor has only recently been released.

I'm with LarryMagoo. I would never use a phrase like 'very thin' or 'lacking bass'. I very much admire the amount and quality of the bass response from the AFC but each to their own and this would be a very boring website indeed if we all liked the same things!

@ donato - Glad you're enjoying your new phones. IMHO you'd have to have a helluva full size speaker system carefully set up in the perfect space to make a noise that competes with a sufficiently driven LCD-4. Don't get me wrong, I love speakers but goodness me I can't even imagine how much a...

@ twitch133 - I've got a fairly new WA6-SE so haven't heard everything yet but I'm a big fan of the Brimar 5Z4GY from your list, and it'll set you back significantly less than $300!

That's not an uncommon comment about the LCD4, but it's never been an issue for me. I listen for blissful hour after hour with no thought of the weight. Yes 'forgiving' sounds a bit like 'covering up the flaws' or 'not analytical'. It has negative connotations for me anyway, and whatever...